Rep. Hoyer expands social-media use

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is building up his social-media presence, joining Google Plus, Pinterest and Instagram, all within the last month. According to his office, he is now the only member of the House leadership on all three networks.

"These rapidly expanding social-media platforms provide a new and exciting opportunity to connect with constituents and ensure the Democratic message reaches the millions of Americans who use these sites," Hoyer said in a statement. "From sharing photos on Instagram to pinning infographics and videos on Pinterest, these tools provide helpful information and updates on the Democratic agenda, as well as what I'm doing both in D.C. and in my district in Maryland. It also provides my constituents an important opportunity to provide feedback and raise questions so that we can have an ongoing dialogue addressing their concerns." 

Male lawmakers, and Democrats in particular, have been slow to sign up for Pinterest, which has a heavily female-dominated user base. 

Hoyer has populated his Pinterest page with nine collections of images, organized into topics such as “At the White House” and “In Maryland’s 5th District,” which Hoyer represents in Congress.

His Pinterest boards include one dubbed “Hoyer history,” which is extensive; Hoyer has held office in the House since 1981.

On Instagram, Hoyer is sharing some fun behind-the-scenes photos, including trivia such as why Hoyer could be seen wearing a blue tie this week (to raise awareness of health problems common among men and boys for Men’s Health Week).

Hoyer is also active on Twitter (where he has 20,211 followers), Facebook (6,182 "likes") and YouTube (417 subscribers). 

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